Duck and Rabbit

Duck! Rabbit! By Amy Rosenthal

SONG WITH FELT PIECES
There's a little white duck sitting in the water,

a little white duck doing what he oughter.

He took a bite of a lily pad

flapped his wings and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little white duck sitting in the water

quack! quack! quack!"

There's a little green frog swimming in the water,

a little green frog doing what he oughter.

He jumped right off of the lily pad

that the little duck bit and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little green frog swimming in the water

ribbit! ribbit! ribbit!"

There's a little black bug floating on the water,

a little black bug doing what he oughter.

He tickled the frog on the lily pad

that the little duck bit and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little black bug floating on the water

bzzz! bzzz! bzzz!"

There's a little red snake playing in the water,

a little red snake doing what he oughter.

He frightened the duck and the frog so bad,

he ate the bug and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little red snake playing in the water

hiss! hiss! hiss!"

Now there's nobody left sitting in the water,

nobody left doing what he oughter.

There's nothing left but the lily pad;

the duck and the frog ran away, I'm sad

'cause there's nobody left sitting in the water

boo! hoo! hoo!

Word of the Day: DUCK

Abracadabra ziggety zing
You can be anything.

Just close your eyes,

And turn yourself around.

Then make a wish with a rhyming sound.

Abracadabra ziggety zabbit.

You can be a bunny rabbit!

Magic box By Katie Cleminson

Here is the box. Put on the lid.
I wonder whatever inside is hid.
I'll bet it's a rabbit without any doubt.
Just open the lid,
CREEEEEAK
And let it pop out!

Just how long can a long string be?! By Keith Baker

STORYTELLING
Herbie the worm string story

Worms up, worms down.
Worms are hiding under ground.
Worms down, worms up.
Look out for birds!
They'll gobble you up.

Silly Animals

OPENING SONGS
Turtle, turtle in your box.
Won't you come out?
Knock. Knock. Knock.

I have a little turtle,
His name is Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bathtub
To see if you he could swim.
He drank up all the water.
He ate up all the soap.
And now he's sick in bed,
With bubbles in his throat.
Hiccup.


Pigs make me sneeze By Mo Willems

RHYMING

Let's fill up the farm house with silly animals!
To market, to market to buy a fat pig.
Home again home again jiggety jig.
To market to market to buy a soft sheep.
Home again home again jiggety jeep.
To market to market to buy a big cow.
Home again home again jiggety jow!

Willaby wallaby wee.
An elephant sat on me.
Willaby wallaby woo.
An elephant sat on you.
Willaby wallaby wig.
An elephant sat on pig.
Willaby wallaby weep.
An elephant sat on sheep.


Literacy Tip: Use these simply rhymes for playing with language. Practicing rhyming builds your child's readiness to read. Remember that it's great to make up silly rhyming words, your child is learning through play. Dr. Seuss made up a lot of silly nonsense words!

The squeaky doorby Margaret Read MacDonald

Literacy Tip: This retelling of a folktale is great for acting out - using friends and family, puppets, or toys. Help your child narrate the story by asking questions like, "What happens next?" This builds your child's narrative skills.

MORE RHYMING
A hunting we will go.
A hunting we will go.
We'll catch a bear,
And put her in a chair.
And then we'll let her go.

Repeat this song using rhyming pairs like: "Frog - log", "Cat - hat", "Goat-boat", "Snake-cake". What else can you think of?

STORYTELLING
Sarah's version of "The Exploding Frog"

SONG
Mmm mmm went the little green frog one day.
Mmm mmm went the little green frog.
Mmm mmm went the little green frog one day.
And they all went mmm mmm ah.
But we all know frogs go,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
We all know frogs go,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
They don't go mmm mmm ah.

Call me gorgeous By Giles And Alexandra Milton

AND EVEN MORE RHYMING!
Abracadabra ziggety zing.
You can be anything.
Just close your eyes,
And turn yourself around.
Then make a wish with a rhyming sound.
Abracadabra, ziggety zoar
You can be a dinosaur!

Literacy Tip: This rhyme has a strong rhythm. Tap your thighs and clap your hands. Then, close your eyes, turn yourself around, and do a drum roll as you say "Abracadabra ziggety _____". Create lots of fun rhyming pairs like "Abracadabra ziggety zie, you can be a butterfly" or "Abracadabra ziggety zopper, you can be a green grasshopper"

GOODBYE SONGS

Bird Friends

OPENING RHYMES

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle...

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill.
One named Jack and one named Jill.
Fly away Jack. Fly away Jill.
Come back Jack. Come back Jill.

Birds By Kevin Henkes
Literacy Tip: Check out a book from the library that has the names of birds in your area. Help your child identify robin, crow, and whoever else lives nearby. Building your child's vocabulary is an essential step in learning to read.

SONG WITH SCARVES
Red bird, red bird through my window.

Red bird, red bird through my window.

Red bird, red bird through my window.
Oh, Johnny I'm tired.
This song can be done with scarves or felt birds, or just with your imagination. If you are using scarves, the children who have the red scarf to circle around the room like birds. Sing for every color in the room.

RHYME

When birds are hungry they may look for worms
Worms up, worms down.
Worms are hiding under ground.
Worms down, worms up.
Look out for birds!
Or they will gobble you up.
SLURP!

Chicken Little By Rebecca Emberley

Literacy Tip: Favorite folktales are perfect for acting out or retelling. Feel free to adapt stories as you play with them. Your child is building narrative skills!

MOVEMENT GAME

5 little monkeys jumping on the bed

From the CD "So Big" by Hap Palmer

FELT STORY

One elephant went out to play
Upon a spider’s web one day.
He had such enormous fun.
That he called another one to come.
El-e-phant!
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
Literacy Tip: This story song can be done with felt or with children being the elephants. Keep adding an additional elephant to the circle or the felt board until there aren't any left. Then, the spider can return to his enormous web and all the elephants can jump off and run away!

First the egg By Laura Vaccaro Seeger

VEGETABLE RIDDLES
First the seed – everybody pick up a seed
Plant a little seed, watch it grow.
Soon you will have a vegetable.
I’m thinking of an orange vegetable that rabbits eat!

GOODBYE SONGS

Animals in the Snow

Opening Rhymes

Good morning, good morning.

Good morning to you.

Good morning, goog morning

I'm glad to see you.

Hello toes...

Mother Goose Rhymes

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle...

A big quiet house Retold by Heather Forest

Song with Felt Animals

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm he had a goat, E-I-E-I-O

With a maa, maa here.

And a maa, maa there.

Here a maa, there a maa.

Everywhere a maa, maa.

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

Repeat with your favorite animals and their sounds. If you're working with letters and sounds, try making everything on the farm start with a certain letter, like "B". Balls, bananas, boats, etc. You'll have a fun experience building letter knowledge and phonological awareness.

I spy with my little eye an animal that is red...

Annie and the wild animalsBy Jan Brett

Movement games with teddy bears

Head and shoulders knees and toes,

Knees and toes.

Head and shoulders knees and toes.

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.

Head and shoulders

Oh the Grand Old Duke of York.

He had ten thousand men.

He marched them up to the top of the hill.

And he marched them down again.

And when they're up, they're up.

And when they're down, they're down.

And when they're only half way up,

They're neither up nor down.

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around.

Teddy bear, teddy bear touch the groun.

Teddy bear, teddy bear climb the stairs.

Teddy bear, teddy bear comb your hair.

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn off the light.

Teddy bear, teddy bear say good night.

Quieting Rhymes
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill
One named Jack.

And one named Jill.

Fly away Jack.

Fly away Jill.

Come back Jack.

Come back Jill.

Snow is falling down, hush.

Snow if falling down, hush.

Let's go dancing.
Let's go play.

Snow is falling down, hush.

What do you wear in the cold to keep from freezing? Use a variety of words to increase your child's vocabulary and build their readiness to read.

Knitty kitty By David Elliott

Literacy Tip: This book is full of rhyming sounds to play with. Emphasize the rhyming to build your child's phonological awareness.

Goodbye Songs

See you later alligator...

Make new friends, and keep the old...

Let it Snow

OPENING RHYMES
Humpty dumpty sat on a wall...
Hey diddle, diddle the cat and the fiddle...

Footprints in the snow By Mei Matsuoka

SONG
Mmm, mmm went the little green frog one day
Mmm, mmm went the little green frog.
Mmm, mmm went the littel green frog one day
And they all went mmm, mmm, ah.

But we all know frogs go CLAP la, di, da, di, da.
CLAP la, di, da, di, da
CLAP la, di, da, di, da
We all know frogs go CLAP la, di, da, di, da
They don't go mmm, mmm, ah.

Other verses:
Grrr, grrr went the big brown bear one day...
Wiggle, wiggle went the little grey worm one day...
Swim, swim went the little green turtle one day...
Splish, splash went the little blue fish one day...

WORD OF THE DAY
S -N-O-W
Literacy Tip: Each week in storytime we talk about the names and the sounds of letters. Playing with the sounds helps children build phonological awarness. The first letters a child will learn to identify are the letters in their own name. Keep letter learning a fun activity, and do not use drills or rote memorization.

RHYME
Snow is falling down, HUSH.
Snow is falling down, HUSH.
Let's go dancing. Let's go play.
Snow is falling down, HUSH.

Literacy Tip: Use a variety of words to describe the environment. What does snow feel like? What does it taste like? Vocabulary is a key element in learning to read.

FELT
5 little snowmen riding on a sled
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mamma called Frosty and Frosty said.
No more snowmen riding on a sled.
Repeat with 4, 3, 2, 1.

Snow party By Harriet Ziefert

MOVEMENT
Head and shoulders, knees, and toes. Knees, and toes.
Head and shoulders, knees, and toes. Knees and toes.
Eyes and ears, and mouth and nose.
Head and shoulders, knees, and toes. Knees and toes.

"Teddy Bear Playtime" from Hap Palmer's "So Big" CD

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn around
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear touch the ground.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear climb the stairs.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear comb your hair.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn out the light.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say good night.



Yes day! By Amy Rosenthal
Literacy Tip: This a great book to motivate even the most reluctant listener. Engage your child in saying "Yes!" to every question. What would your child ask for on a yes day?

GOODBYE SONGS
See you later, alligator. After awhile, crocodile.
See you soon, little baboon.
Bye, bye butterfly.
I'm out the door, dinosaur.

Make new friends, and keep the old.
One is silver, and the other is gold.
A circle is round. It has no end.
That's how long I want to be your friend.

Rhyme Time

OPENING RHYMES

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle.

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed to see such sport.

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Humpty dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty dumpty had a great fall.

And all the king's horses,

And all the king's men,

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Literacy Tip: When you add physical movement to these rhymes, your child can feel the rhythm of language in addition to hearing it. Encourage younger chidren to use large movements, while older children can use small, more finite ones.

Wombat walkabout By Carol Diggory Shields

Literacy Tip:This is trickster tale set in Australia so it is great for building vocabulary. You can disocover dingos, gum trees and billabongs! Knowing the names of things and words is the first necessary step in learning to read.

Here's a cup. And here's a cup.
And here's a cup of tea.
Pour a cup. And pour a cup.
And have a drink with me.

RHYMING SONG – adapted by Nancy Stewart

Literacy Tip: Playing with songs that have strong rhymes helps your child build phonological awareness. All the time you are giggling, your child is building an awareness of the smaller parts of words.
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggety jig

To market, to market to buy a sweet dog

Home again, home again, jiggety jog

To market, to market to buy some apples

Home again, home again, jiggety japples

To market, to market to buy some bananas

Home again, home again, jiggety janas

WORD OF THE DAY: FUN

CIRCLE DANCE
Here we go loopy loo

From Pete Seeger’s Song and play time

Ring around the rosie

A pocket full of posies.

Ashes, ashes.

We all fall down.

Cows are in the meadow, eating buttercups.

Thunder, ligthning. We all stand up.

Hickory Dickory Dock.

The mouse ran up the clock.

The clock struck one,

The mouse ran down.

Hickory dickory dock.

Clock struck one By Trudy Harris

Literacy Tip: This rhyming books is great for reading repeatedly. You can leave the rhyming word out in each line and have your child fill in the blank.

MOVEMENT RHYME

Icky sticky, icky sticky bubblegum.

Bubblegum, bubblegum.

Icky sticky, icky sticky bubblegum

Sticking my hands on my head.

Ew, ick. You better come quick.

Ew, yuck. I'm stuck, stuck, stuck.

Repeat this rhyme sticking your hands on different parts of your body. When we shared this rhyme at storytime children started telling stories about what happened when they got all sticky. When children create stories they are building narrative skills.

Clock struck one By Elizabeth Scanlon

Literacy Tip: This is a heartwarming book with simple rhymes. See if you can figure out other pockets in the world.

GOODBYE SONGS

See you later alligator.

After awhile crocodile.

See you soon, little baboon.

Bye bye butterfly.

I'm out the door dinosaur.

Make new friends and keep the old.

One is silver and the other is gold.

A circle is round.

It has no end.

That's how long I want to be your friend.

Bears

OPENING RHYMES
Hello toes. Goodbye toes.
My toes are feeling shy today.
And now they're feeling better!
Repeat this rhyme with different parts of the body, including elbows or hands. This is a great way to turn a grumpy morning into a silly one! Try saying hello to your tongue!

A visitor for Bear By Bonny Becker
Literacy Tip: This charming story is great for dialogic reading, which basically means having a dialogue or conversation about the book as you read. Ask your child what will happen next or why bear doesn't like visitors.

RHYME

Here's a cup (make cup with thumb and fingers of one hand)
And here's a cup (do the same with other hand)
And here's a pot of tea. (use first hand to make pot of tea with thumb for spout)
Pour a cup (pour tea and hand to your child)
And pour a cup (pour tea for yourself)
And have a sip with me! (pretend to sip)

WORD OF THE DAY – W-A-R-M
What do you do to stay warm when it’s cold outside? The library has many CD's with music and movement.

One potato, two potato, Three potato, four.

Five potato, six potato, Seven potato more.

Eight potato, nine potato. All the way to ten.

Let's have mashed potatoes and sing it again.

Grizzly Dad By Joanna Harrison

MOVEMENT Take a walk little bear, take a walk. (Clap, Clap)

Take a walk little bear, take a walk. (Clap, Clap)

Take a walk little bear, throw your paws up in the air.

Take a walk little bear, take a walk.

Little bear finds some honey!

Take a lick little bear, take a lick…

Little bear finds friend rabbit!

Take a hop little bear, take a hop...

Little bear goes down to the pond!

Take a swim little bear, take a swim...

Little bear feels the wind!

Take a twirl little bear, take a twirl...

Little bear had a full day!

Take a nap little bear, take a nap...

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around.

Teddy bear, teddy bear touch the ground.

Teddy bear, teddy bear climb the stairs.

Teddy bear, teddy bear comb your hair.

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn off the light.

Teddy bear, teddy bear say goodnight!

Every Autumn comes the bear By Jim Arnosky

SONG WITH FELT ANIMALS(Lyrics by Nancy Stewart)

When bears get up in the morning they always say good day.

When bears get up in the morning they always say good day.

Growl. Growl. Growl. Growl. That is what they say, they say:

Growl. Growl. Growl. Growl. That is what they say.

Continue this song using a variety of animals. You can use stuffed animals for pretend play or just sing the song in the car making lots of fun animal sounds.

GOODBYE SONGS

See you later, alligator. After awhile crocodile.

See you soon, little baboon. Bye, bye butterfly.

I'm out the door, dinosaur.

Make new friends. And keep the old.

One is silver. And the other is gold.

A circle is round. It never ends.

That's how long I want to be your friend.